Finding A Way
by kaika uruwashii
Summary: After his mom passed away, Darien and his father are left homeless. They must save up their money just to survive. One fateful day while searching for a job, Darien finds the happiness that he thought he'd never experience again and a love to overcome all
1. prologue

Summary: After his mom passed away, Darien and his father are left homeless. They must save their money just to survive. After a fateful day of just trying to find a job, he finds the happiness that he thought he would never experience again and a love to overcome all odds.

"Mother!" A young five-year-old boy cries out. Kneeling on the floor by his mother's bedside, he folds his arms on the bed. He watched as his father dabbed a cool, wet, washcloth on her sweat-beaded forehead. Shivering, she took his wrist and pressed his palm to her cheek. She looked up at him and smiled with a single tear trailing down her cheek.

The boy's father smiled back and strokes her cheek with his thumb. Tears threatened to fall from his eyes. That was one of the few times when the boy saw his father cry. He was a strong man; someone he could always look up to for strength. No matter what the situation was, he did his best to succeed. But when all was said and done, his family was his number one priority.

The boy wiped his teary eyes with his arm, then again with the collar of his shirt. Though no one would tell him everything, he knew went sent his mother to her deathbed. It was cancer. What it was, he wasn't completely sure, he overheard his dad and one of the doctors talking about it. Even though people say that he's "wise beyond his years", he's still a child. Maybe they thought that the of his mother's condition would be too much for him; too heartbreaking. However, just seeing her deteriorating, not knowing what was going on, or able to help was even worse and unacceptable to a child's heart. "Mother!" The boy cried, "Tell me! What's happening? Can I help? Please, don't go!"

She smiled at him. His eyes held such honesty and a passion that would take him far in life. "Sweetie, come here." With one hand, she reached for her son. He obeyed and stood by her, holding her hand. "Will you do me a favor?" The boy nodded in response. "Live long and be happy. Stay as sweet as you are, you'll go far."

The boy's father immediately realized what this meant. He could see it. She was becoming paler by the minute. She's slipping away. "Honey?" He says, his voice filled with concern.

"I love you both. She choked out. The little boy felt her hand go limp. He looked at his own two hands holding his mother's, then back up to his mother's face. Her head fell to the side with her eyes closed shut, and no sound. The monitors by her bed showed that her heart began to slow and then stop completely. This was the final sign that she was gone; that she was no more. Now, they just have each other and do their best without her.

They gathered each other in a hug and let their tears fall freely as the room began to fill with doctors and nurses. From now on, nothing would be the same. And of course, it's not the end.


	2. Chapter 1

Leaning against a brick wall, holding a newspaper opened to the "help wanted" adds, he watched the people passing by; rushing to get somewhere, or to meet someone. They don't realize how lucky they are; having homes, the freedom to do whatever they wish, having something to call their own. How he envied them. He watched as couples walked down the street with their arms around one another. They would lovingly gaze into each other's eyes and kiss from time to time.

In every crowd, there's always a person who is depressed or worried about something, whether it is a job, family, or a relationship. At least they know that they have a home to come to at the end of the day.

Ever since his mom had passed, his dad had financial problems. Before, he had been a mechanic, but the shop went bankrupt and went out of business. After that, he did manage to find another job as a mechanic, but it wasn't enough to take care of all of rent and other payments, so they were evicted. His dad of course, searched for other apartments, but they wouldn't be able to afford any of them. So, they lived in the airport.

Darien did his best to help out, even as a little kid. He would help to carry people's luggage for tips. Now that he's 16, he can really be of some help. He decided to start job-hunting himself.

The winter's frigid wing began to blow. He pulled his jacket closer to his body for warmth and continued down the sidewalk. 'Hmm… McDonald's has an opening. Minimum wage-' The sound of a truck interrupted his thoughts. He looked around for the source of the noise.

Over in the road was a young woman about his age crossing the road looking down at something in her hands. As cars sped by around her, a large truck was heading towards her, and it looked like it wasn't planning to stop anytime soon. The truck horn sounded once again, but it continued to move towards the girl. "Hey!" Darien called out. Finally, the girl looked up, but she didn't move. Like a deer in headlights, she just stood there. He had to think fast. Why wouldn't she move out of the way?

Frozen by fear, she couldn't help but stand there. She began to quiver and dropped her phone. She felt a hand grab her wrist, then she was being pulled way. She roughly landed on the sidewalk where people gathered around her. The truck that was about to hit her zoomed by. "Pay attention, you stupid bitch!" yelled the operator of the vehicle.

She watched it pass by. Then she remembered that someone had saved her from the terrible fate. She noticed that someone was on the ground next to her. She quickly turned her head towards the person and asked, "Are you the one who saved me?" The young man nodded. She smiled and hugged him with gratitude. "Thank you so much! How can I repay you?"

"It's fine. Knowing that you're okay is repayment enough." A blush crept onto his face. The girl smiled.

"So," She began as she stood back up and began to brush off her clothes, "What's your name?"

"Darien. Darien Chiba." He ran his fingers through his silky raven hair. "And you are?"

"Serena Tsukino." She took a step towards him and twirled a strand of her blonde hair around her finger.

Darien couldn't help but laugh at her flirtatious manner. He found it to be rather cute actually. Now that he has seen her up close, Serena seemed to be a bit younger that he was, maybe a year or two.

"Serena, I hope you don't mind me asking, but how old are you?"

"I'm fifteen!" She answered with a large smile on her face. She just suddenly felt very giddy, she wasn't sure why. Earlier, she felt as calm as can be, and she didn't consume any sugar earlier. 'Oh, well. No use wondering about such things!'

"Ah," Darien began, "I was right! You are younger than me." He calmly placed his hands in his pockets.

"What's that supposed to mean!" Somehow, Serena took it as an insult. Was he trying to call her immature? That she needs to grow up? "Are you saying that I'm childish and immature?"

Darien's hands shot up in defense. "No! Not at all! It was just a lucky guess, that's all!" He slowly lowered his hands and Serena took a step back, giving him a suspicious look. She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. Sure, lucky guess.

She noticed something pink in the road. She looked at it carefully. It turned out to be her phone. It was broken into several tiny pieces from being dropped then ran over several times by cars. "Oh, no! My phone! Dad's going to kill me!" She took in a deep breath then looked over at Darien and shrugged.

For the passed hour and a half, they walked around the city talking about just about anything. The time seemed to pass so quickly. They could go on forever. "So, can I have your number?" Serena asked. He wasn't sure how to handle this. Should he just say that he doesn't have a phone because he's homeless? Would she go for that? Homeless people are usually stereotyped as being dirty, hungry bums who are to lazy to get up and get a job. But that's not him and he doesn't want to give the wrong impression so-

"No! No you can't!" He blurted out. His response startled the blonde "I…I…I'm having some problems with the phone company so…. So…. You can't"

Serena crossed her arms and looked at him suspiciously. "You don't have a phone, do you?"

"Is it that obvious?" He relaxed his shoulders.

"Can you say 'yes'? Only people without phones would try to come up with such a lame excuse."

"Okay, you caught me." He truned his back towards the girl and took a deep breath. "The truth is… I don't have a phone because, I don't have a home."

Konnichiwa mina! Kaika here! I'm back with a new story for ya! Hope you like my story for you. Funny, I came up with this idea while I was reading a story for a class at my mom's school. So again, I hope you like this. I have some more stories I want to post. I'll try to get around to those and I'm surprised that I got one or two reviews for Moon2K. It's been forever since it updated that one. Anyway… please review and thank you for reading my story.


	3. Chapter 2

For the passed hour and a half, they walked around the city talking about just about anything. The time seemed to pass so quickly. They could go on forever. "So, can I have your number?" Serena asked. He wasn't sure how to handle this. Should he just say that he doesn't have a phone because he's homeless? Would she go for that? Homeless people are usually stereotyped as being dirty, hungry bums who are to lazy to get up and get a job. But that's not him and he doesn't want to give the wrong impression so-

"No! No you can't!" He blurted out. His response startled the blonde "I…I…I'm having some problems with the phone company so…. So…. You can't"

Serena crossed her arms and looked at him suspiciously. "You don't have a phone, do you?"

"Is it that obvious?" He relaxed his shoulders.

"Can you say 'yes'? Only people without phones would try to come up with such a lame excuse."

"Okay, you caught me." He turned his back towards the girl and took a deep breath. "The truth is… I don't have a phone because, I don't have a home."

Was she hearing things? She wasn't sure. "What? Come again. You're homeless?"

Ashamed of himself, he looked down at the ground. He couldn't bare to see the look on her face. What's worst, he betrayed his father's trust. 'Never be noticed' That's what his father always told him. They couldn't take any risks in being kicked out of the airport. Now, that's exactly what he has done. There's no turning back now. "Yes." He answered, his voice full of nervousness and shame. "My father and I are homeless." He lifted his head up slightly to see the shocked look on her face. "Yes, I know, it's pathetic. You don't have to be seen with me-"

"Oh, no!" She interrupted and placed a hand on his shoulder, "I'm sorry. I never meant to make you feel bad about it. It's just that you don't look like a homeless person at all!"

Darien looked down, ashamed of the blush that crept across his face. He ran his hand through his silky raven hair. "Good. That's a good thing. Father always did stress that I had to blend in with everyone else." He glanced back up at the girl to find that she stood before him grinning with her arms folded behind her back.

"Well," she chimed, "He should be proud. You certainly fooled me!" She looked down at the ground and turned to the side, kicking at small ball of concrete. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened?" She looked back at the young man. There was a mix of emotions in his eyes. Sadness, worry, pain, hope. His eyes told it all. He didn't ask for this and neither did his father. She wanted to help.

His hands balled into tight fists and prepared himself to tell.

That half-hour was the roughest yet, or so it seemed. What was he doing? He just spilled out his life history to a complete stranger! However, something told him that it was okay; that he doesn't have to hide things from her. What was he saying! He just met the girl for crying out loud! And what could she do? She's just a fifteen-year-old!

As they continued down the street, he looked down at the petite girl. She seemed to be in deep thought. Her head was tilted down slightly and her arms her folded across her chest. What does she think of him now ? He wasn't sure if he wanted to hear the answer to that. What was she thinking about so?

"Darien? Do you…" She began, but then trailed off, not sure how to say what she was thinking about. "Maybe…" she trailed off again. "Darien!" She perked up. She turn towards him smiling and placed her hands on his arm. "I want you to come meet my dad!"

Taken aback by her request, he stepped back from the girl who stood in confusion with her head tilted to the side. "What!" Darien said in shock.

"I want you to meet my dad!" Serena repeated, "Maybe he could help!" She took a step forward towards him.

"Serena!" He exclaimed, "Why would he want to help me, some brat off of the streets he doesn't even know!" His breathing quickened and mixture of emotions rushed through him: Annoyance, fear, nervousness- How could she ask this from him? They just met! "Besides, your dad would hate me from the moment I walk through your door thinking that I'm some guy that came to take his little girl away from him!"

Serena stood quietly with her arms folded, listening to the nonsense her new friend was trying feed her.

"Don't be silly! Daddy won't hate you! Just tell him what you told me and everything will be fine."

"But why would he want to help someone like me?" Darien asked solemnly.

Serena moved towards him and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Because you're a good person in need of aid. She then placed her hands of either side of his face and pulled him closer so he was at her eye level.

Unexpectedly, a person passed by, pushing Darien into her and yelled, "Hey lovebirds! Get a room!" Then, another yelled, "Nasty!" The two couldn't help but blush. Darien quickly backed away from the girl and Serena brushed off her clothes. Neither dared to look at each other in the eye.

There was a moment of silence between the two. "Maybe." Darien spoke up. "Do you think you father would really help us?"

"I'm sure of it!" Serena answered confidently.

Darien smiled at the thought of finally being able to have a home to go to. To no longer pretend that everything is okay when in truth, it's not. "Let's go!"

Serena was estatic. "Yay!" She gave a huge bear hug. As they went on to her house, they continued to talk about just about everything, arm-in-arm.

AN: Ahh… finally! This is taking longer than expected. I'm getting there though. sigh School starts Monday. Hm. And what's weird is that I actually happy about it. Finally back to the drama. Not that there wasn't any drama going on this summer, cause there was! Just more excitement for me! Lol. Please review and thank you! I love you guys! Oh. The next chapter will be longer, I promise!

A:\Finding a Way\finding a way ch. 2.rtf


End file.
